Week 2: Organizational Culture at Northmarq Capital

My perception of the culture at Northmarq capital is limited as I have only been working for a brief time, but I am excited to see how my thoughts now may change or differ from the end of the internship. During my training and orientation these first two weeks there has been a consistent emphasis about the type of culture that Northmarq has and wants to cultivate. I have spoken to several managers and executives who have stated the culture as the main reason for remaining with the company despite having more lucrative options elsewhere. They have constantly preached the importance of integrity, communication, and hard work. Northmarq also believes that to create a successful culture and open lines of communication between departments that everyone must understand the roles each person plays. To accomplish this every new employee including myself had to attend meetings and take classes that outline what each department does and what role they play within the organization. So far I feel like these values have been largely upheld by members of the organization that I have come to work with. Everyone I have seen and met has been incredibly kind and willing to help me and the other interns get up to speed with our tasks. Many of the other employees within the department I work in are young so communication is not too formal but still remains professional. I mostly rely on email, Northmarq’s internal messaging system, or talking in-person to ask questions and communicate. Since the department is made up of many young people it has made the transition into the role easier as they understand the position I am in as an intern since they were in the same position not long ago. Although internal communication may be slightly more informal than the typical corporate office, the communication that I have seen with external borrowers, and lenders in which Northmarq does business is very formal. Being an intern, I will not have direct contact with these lenders as Northmarq prides itself on forming deep and lasting relationships with these borrowers/lenders and my ten-week internship is not conducive to such a model. Instead, I have listened in on conversations that some coworkers have had and observed how their style of communication changes when speaking with those outside the company. In my short time working at Northmarq I have found their culture to be one of the largest strengths of the company. Although the work itself that I am tasked with completing may not be what I want to pursue in the future, I can very much see myself wanting to continue working for Northmarq because of the culture I have seen.